Vibrational and 29Si NMR spectroscopies of soluble silicate oligomers

Vibrational spectroscopy has been used to correlate the features of silicate solution spectra with ²⁹Si NMR spectra, as a function of SiO₂:Na₂O ratio and SiO₂ concentration. Assignments of infrared and Raman component bands have been made for different anion types and are consistent with results reported for crystalline silicates and silicate glasses. The extent of depolymerization of larger anions has been found to differ, depending on both the degree of dilution and alkalinity. The relative amounts of polymeric (Q⁴) silica and larger three dimensional (Q³_4R) anions are greater for the more siliceous solutions (3.3 and 2.95 ratio) at high concentrations. These large anions continue to be major contributors to the anion distribution even at 15 to 50 fold dilution. In the case of more alkaline solutions, especially below 2.5 ratio, the relative contribution of the large anions to the distribution drops rapidly, even with 2 or 3 fold dilution. At low concentrations, in very alkaline solutions, the anion distribution is mainly monomer, dimer and cyclic trimer. Vibrational spectroscopies show great promise for observing changes in anion distribution on a much shorter time scale than is possible with ²⁹Si NMR and can be useful for following reactions involving silicate solutions.